Assistant Hospital Housekeeping Officer

Summary

The position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), New England Health Care Network (VISN 1), Medical Center, under the Environmental Management Services. The incumbent exercises complete management and program responsibility for all hospital housekeeping operations and ancillary functions.

Duties

• Duties include but are not limited to: Plans, organizes, directs, manages, reviews and evaluates an augmented program, which includes responsibility for Uniform Appropriation, Environmental Health and Sanitation, Pest Control, and Bio­hazardous Waste, management programs. This also includes the more traditional functions of waste management and maintenance of sanitary and visual cleanliness for hospital floors, ceilings, windows and walls, as well as, overseeing the management of the Medical Center's unique programs such as Fitness Centers, Fisher House, etc. Develops personnel management policies and effects all related personnel actions for the service staff. Ensures the establishment of adequate training program and compliance with Veterans Health Administration and/or local policies. Incumbent sets objectives, and coordinates program reviews and evaluations, resulting in a clean and aesthetically pleasing hospital environment. Serves as a member of the Director's top advisory or executive board and is thoroughly involved with the total medical center's mission. Serves on standing committees of the facility, such as the Administrative Executive Board and the Strategic Planning Board in addition to its subordinate entities and is extensively involved as a full member of multiple interdisciplinary committees. Participates in resolving a wide variety of hospital problems throughout the physical plant and outpatient clinics. Provides input to determine long- and short-range planning, for establishing overall policy, and budgeting for the medical center as well as for the Environmental Management Program and assists in formulating the overall hospital mission. As a member of the Strategic Planning Committee for the facility, acts as a primary focal point and advocate for management improvement within the facility and its dependent facilities. Serves as the primary coordinator and liaison between Administrative Services and Clinical Services for epidemiology and infection control. In conjunction with these duties, serves on the Infection Prevention and Surgical Services Committee. Consistently provides input to such areas as Clostridium difficile control, disinfection, handling, and disposal of biohazardous waste, bloodborne pathogen precautions and disposal of anti-neoplastic materials. Interprets local and agency policies and drafts policies for local facility approval. Administers labor management agreements and confers with Union Officials to resolve problems arising from interpretation or application of contract agreements. Delegates to subordinate supervisors and holds them accountable for the performance of their assigned duties. Ensures environmental regulatory compliance in the service by the effective implementation of applicable environmental programs and Standard Operating Procedures. Exercises independent judgment and initiative in directing the accomplishment of assigned work operations and program management responsibilities within the limits established by Facility Support Directorate. Ensures that all employees are knowledgeable of and comply with safety rules, that all employees receive pertinent and required safety training, and that safety programs are met. Reviews and evaluates activities within the Sanitation Section to measure the extent of achievement of objectives and to evaluate the effectiveness of cleaning methods, techniques, and procedures. Trains, counsels, disciplines, evaluates, and promotes the growth of employees within the department. Develops and implements organization structures and operating plans and procedures to achieve program goals and determines needs for resources and their appropriate allocation and effectiveness. Prepares, maintains, and monitors work plans for staff utilization. Identifies training and competency needs and ensures on the job training is conducted to develop technical competence. Oversees various program areas/contracts (environmental sanitation, linen management,…

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/05/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Quality Ranking Factor: Experience or displayed knowledge of regulatory standards governing hospital environmental operations, including: safety, sanitation, and infection control. Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): The Hospital Housekeeping Management Series 0673 requires specific education or experience to be met in order to be appointed into a position of this series. You must meet one of the pre-determined education or experience Individual Occupational Requirements listed below as set by Office of Personnel Management (OPM):Undergraduate Education: Major study -- chemistry or biological sciences, sanitary science or administration, institutional sanitation or administration, hospital administration, hotel administration, public administration, business administration, or other fields related to the position. Graduate Education: Major study -- public health or business administration with emphasis in hospital administration. OR You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Experience in two or more of the following areas, or other work related to the position to be filled: Experience that demonstrated a practical working knowledge of the basic principles of chemistry, biology, and bacteriology as applied to environmental sanitation, infection control, and to the choice and use of antimicrobial agents in the disinfection, sanitization, and/or sterilization of surfaces and equipment. Experience in laundry and linen management. Experience in interior design management. Experience that demonstrated a knowledge of waste management, including the requirements relating to hazardous, toxic, and infectious wastes and provisions for their final disposition. Experience that demonstrated a knowledge of pest management, including alternative methods of control and the selection and application of chemicals. GRADE DETERMINATIONS. In addition to meeting both the Individual Occupational Requirements listed above, and Time-In-grade, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. To qualify for the GS-673-11 based on specialized experience: You must have one (1) year of specialized experience at the GS-09 level or equivalent for this position. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. At the GS-11 full performance level, the incumbent demonstrates experience in two or more of the following areas: Experience that demonstrated a practical working knowledge of the basic p…

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Physical Requirements: Responsibility spans throughout the medical center situated on 100 acres consisting of 56 patient care and administrative buildings encompassing over 2M million square feet which makes supervision very challenging. Due to this large area covered, the employee will do a lot of moving across the areas supervised. The work will require some physical exertion such as long periods of standing, or recurring and considerable crouching, bending, standing, stooping, stretching, or walking such as in performing cleaning activities if needed and possible inspections of employees/contractors' work. Work could also include frequent lifting of moderately heavy items weighing less than 23 kilograms (i.e., under 50 pounds) such as boxes and equipment. The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: ht…